The publicity-hungry killer will now be sentenced to life in prison. Her attorneys may file an appeal or two, but she'll largely disappear into obscurity, just one more killer locked away from society.

The same would not be true if Arias had been sentenced to death. Her appeals, of which there would be many, would be high-profile events. Her face would continue to land on front pages, TV newscasts and Internet news sites. We would not be rid of her.

And more to the point: life in prison is a just sentence. Arias is a young woman; she will have decades to reflect on her actions. She will have decades to pay for her crime, in living conditions that are anything but pleasant.

Too bad Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and the lead prosecutor, Juan Martinez, did not recognize this after the first jury also deadlocked on the appropriate sentence. Instead of accepting that outcome, they continued to pursue the death penalty.

Montgomery insisted it was his duty, to the county and to Travis Alexander's family, to seek execution. What's the benefit of settling for a life sentence, he asked while the second penalty phase was still underway: "Just to make it shorter?"

His "duty" pushed the cost to Maricopa County taxpayers for Arias' defense above $3 million, with the cost of the prosecution roughly $133,000. It opened the door to Arias' defense team to delve deeper into Alexander's supposed consumption of pornography, which did nothing to ease the pain for his family.

No, this second trial should have been avoided. A cold, analytical weighing of the case, the first duty of any prosecutor, would have suggested the second time would turn out no different than the first. The twisted relationship between Alexander and Arias, the key element that attracted national media attention, would raise enough doubt with at least one juror to take the death penalty off the table.

And so it has. Let Arias rot in prison, far from the cameras she loves.

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After months of deliberation, a second jury could not decide on life or death for Jodi Arias. Here are five lessons to glean from this mess, according to The Republic's editorial board: Photo by Tom Tingle/The Republic

DEATH PENALTY. Had the threat of a lethal injection been taken off the table long ago, we could have avoided a second Arias circus. Was the dogged prosecution worth it? We'd say no. Photo by Pat Sullivan/AP

COST. Taxpayers shelled out at least $3 million for Arias's defense. The penalty phase dragged on for months, often sidelined while lawyers argued behind closed doors, video blackouts and the veil of a white-noise machine. If this is what passes for justice, taxpayers didn't get their money's worth. Photo by Tom Tingle/The Republic

THE CIRCUS. This trial wasn't live-streamed like the first one in hopes of avoiding the publicity circus that created. But efforts to maintain order repeatedly went overboard, setting dangerous precedents for public access and the checks that places on the legal system. Photo by David Wallace/The Republic

SECRECY. No defendant should be allowed to testify in secret, and that's something worth fighting for. Thankfully, the legal system agreed, ordering Stephens to release testimony gleaned from a "secret witness" --
which we learned was from none other than Arias herself. Photo by David Wallace/The Republic

THE JUDGE. Presiding over a high-profile trial isn't easy, particularly one with as many shenanigans as this one. But Judge Sherry
Stephens made questionable calls about testimony and public access that should be carefully considered during the next round of
judicial performance reviews and elections. Photo by Mark Henle/The Republic